Legacy 1x03: Truth Unspoken
by Lady Dawson
Summary: Complete. As college begins for the four witches, Brooke must go through a trial in order to choose which path she is meant to take, in order to find out her true feelings towards Wyatt. There, she finds a familiar face as her guide.
1. Disturbances at the Bookstore

**Legacy: Truth Unspoken**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter One: Disturbances at the Bookstore

Chris Halliwell moved through the aisles at the bookstore, selecting the ones that he'd need for the fall semester. "So you decide whether or not you're gonna stay on at the club?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder towards his brother. "Mom wanted me to ask, 'cause she needs to know whether or not she's gonna have to hire another bartender."

"Great, I'll be sure to let her know that I still need the job, because we need to pay expenses. And it's so nice to know that her firstborn can so easily be replaced," Wyatt said grumpily.

Letting out a sigh, Chris shook his head. For almost a month now, ever since he and Brooke had been at ends, his brother had been moody and grumpy, snapping at anything that moved. Although, it probably didn't help matters much that he and Susan had been running pretty smoothly with their relationship.

"Wy, it's not like she's adopting another kid," Chris told him. "The club usually has to have a bartender in order to operate." Wyatt made no response as he glanced over Chris's shoulder.

"Great, just what I need," he muttered. Chris looked around and grinned as Susan came up to him.

"Hey, guys," she said, greeting Chris with a quick kiss. Brooke was right behind her, looking slightly anxious as she looked at Wyatt. "What's going on?"

"Hi, Susan," Wyatt said, refusing to even make contact with Brooke. "I'm gonna go see if I can track down this science book." Without even acknowledging Brooke, he walked away from the three, leaving them standing alone in the aisle.

Susan let out a low whistle. "That was pretty uncomfortable," she commented, glancing towards Brooke. "The silent treatment?"

"Like a mime," Brooke groaned. Chris smiled dryly. "I should probably go talk to him or something. This thing's getting out of hand. It's mostly my fault, anyway." She walked away.

"Good luck," Susan said dryly, turning back to Chris. "Think we should go help?"

"No, they have been in this fight for long enough," Chris answered. "They are both adults—at least they're supposed to be. It's time for them to get over this petty argument and move on."

"Maybe, but I don't think that this is going to be settle quickly," Susan said with a sigh, pulling a booklist out of her back pocket. "They may both be adults, but they are both equally stubborn. Wyatt's almost as bad as you are," she added, casting him a glance.

"I resent that," Chris pouted as they walked through the aisles. "Besides, we're not the only stubborn ones in the family."

"Weren't you the one who said that you were defined as the most stubborn member of the Halliwell family?" Susan questioned as she scanned the list, picking up a book and rolling her eyes at the price. "Jeez, why can't they make book prices within range of our pay checks? Do they have to make them so unbelievably high?"

"Yes," Chris agreed. "So have you done any research on that Bobby kid yet?" He knew perfectly well that the kid had been on her mind ever since they'd left the grocery store that day and wouldn't put it past her to try and find out who he was.

"Unfortunately, I have nothing to go on but his first name and there's about a million Bobby's in San Francisco alone. There's not a whole lot to go on, which means I've got absolutely nothing." Susan sighed. "It would be a whole lot easier if I knew what I was looking for."

"Yeah," Chris sighed. "But you know, there's usually a reason for everything. So I think you'll find out what that reason is eventually." Susan made a face at him as they passed through the art section. Chris stopped when he saw the paint set that she'd passed by, her attention focused on her list.

Glancing towards Susan, he looked back at the paint set before heading after her, remembering what she'd told him.

_"What were you like before that happened?" Chris asked her. "How did you change?" _

_"I used to paint. I don't do that anymore. I guess that it just didn't seem to matter because . . . nothing seemed to matter." _

_"And now? What does it feel like now?" _

_"It feels like . . . I'm starting to wake up to realise that it's not a dream, but things are still going to be okay. I mean, it might be hard, but I'm not just gonna give up."_

Chris smiled slightly, glancing back at the paint set as he walked after Susan. He'd come back to get it later, when she wasn't with him.

--

Brooke brushed a hand through her hair as she headed towards the science books, where Wyatt was standing, scanning through the titles. "Hey, can we talk?" she asked. Wyatt made a grunting noise as he bent down, selecting another book, but otherwise didn't respond. "How long are we going to keep doing this?"

"Doing what?" Wyatt said shortly as he continued to avoid eye contact with her, his attention focused solely on the science book.

"Avoid each other," Brooke responded, placing her hands on her hips. "We haven't spoken in a month, which is really hard when we live next door to each other. Wyatt, come on, I know that leading you on was kind of wrong, but you weren't exactly saying no."

"Oh, so this is my fault? Is that what you're saying?" Wyatt had stood up, looking around at her angrily.

"No—"

"Because I'm not the one who was using you, Brooke. That was you. You and your . . . crazy ideas of—"

"Wyatt, please, just stop!" Brooke glanced towards the shelves, which were shaking slightly. "Look, I said that I was sorry, but . . . honestly, what was I supposed to say? 'Hey, I had a boyfriend back in Wisconsin, but he's dead, so I guess I should just move on. Want have a round?'"

"Well, I guess it will probably be routine for you, huh? Get rid of one, move on to the next one fast as you can," Wyatt said. The ugly words sprung out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Brooke's eyes narrowed and before either one of them knew it, a full scale earthquake erupted underneath them. Wyatt ducked to avoid the ceiling tiles that fell due to the force of it. People screamed as they hurried to get away from the centre of the room. Looking around, Wyatt saw Brooke with her eyes closed in concentration. Slowly, the vibrating earth began to still and he let out a deep breath.

Before either one of them could recover from the force of the earthquake, Susan and Chris rushed over to join them. When they reached them, Susan placed her hands on her hips, looking extremely upset.

"Why," she asked, "do I have the feeling that this is entirely you two's fault?" She looked around at the fallen debris, some of which had settled into her hair and clothes before looking back at the witchlighter and the witch-nymph sternly.

Wyatt looked at Brooke weakly, who returned the guilty look to him as they both looked at Susan and Chris. The younger Halliwell rolled his eyes in exasperation while people started to get to their feet, making exclamations about the sudden earthquake.

**--Opening Credits—**

Title Song: "Chariot" by Gavin Degraw

Drew Fuller as Chris Halliwell

Wes Ramsey as Wyatt Halliwell

Michelle Trachtenberg as Susan Dawson

Anne Hathaway as Brooke Murphy

and Hayden Christensen as Brandon James


	2. Vision Quest

**Legacy: Truth Unspoken**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Two: Vision Quest

Chris pulled to a stop in front of the manor, shutting the engine off as he looked over at Susan. "Well, this is it," he said with a sigh, spotting his mother's car in the driveway. "Looks like Mom's home, unless she's out with my aunts vanquishing a demon. If there's anybody who could possibly help with this, it's Mom. She might have an idea on how to help those two. Either that or Aunt Phoebe or Aunt Paige."

"We've got to do something, because as this rate, Brooke's likely to destroy half of San Francisco," Susan sighed as they climbed out. Chris nodded, wrapping an arm around her waist as they walked up the driveway. "I've never known her powers to get out of hand before."

"She's never had to deal with boy problems with one of them dead, has she?" Chris pointed out as they climbed up the stairs. Opening the door, Chris called out, "Mom?"

"Kitchen!" Piper Halliwell's voice called. Chris walked through the foyer with Susan right behind him, admiring the old architecture as they went, to greet his mother. To his surprise, his aunts were in the kitchen as well, talking with their older sister.

"Hi, nephew!" Phoebe squealed, hurrying over to hug Chris. He embraced her as his mother gave him a 'what are you going to do?' look. "What are you doing over here?"

"Just needed Mom's help with something," Chris said with a shrug as he hugged Paige and his mother. Susan was standing in the doorway, watching all this forlornly. "Uh, Sue, you know Mom. This is my Aunt Phoebe and my Aunt Paige. This is Susan, my . . . uh . . ."

"Girlfriend," Susan supplied, earning a smile from Chris.

"This is my girlfriend Susan," he introduced. Paige raised an eyebrow as she and Phoebe both said their hellos.

"I thought it might turn out that way," Piper murmured. Chris glared at her and she shrugged. "What did you need help with, honey? Don't tell me that your brother's getting himself into trouble again."

Susan and Chris looked at each other. "Not demon trouble," Susan told her weakly.

A half hour later, the five were sitting at the table in the dining room with a cup of tea in their hands, contemplating the problem that was occurring between the two witches.

"Well, obviously she cares about Wyatt, I doubt she'd been trying to work things out if she didn't," Phoebe observed. "Unfortunately, it's this Halliwell stubbornness. It's not always a good thing."

"What are we going to do about it?" Susan inquired. "Things can't get any worse than they are right now. Last week, she almost got us killed when a demon attacked and she lost control of her powers."

"Wyatt went a demon rage for about a week after they broke up," Chris added. "After vanquishing three demon clans—alone—he finally got that out of his system, but he's been . . ."

"Temperamental," Susan supplied.

"Grumpy," Chris corrected, "ever since. This morning, they got into an argument down at the bookstore and near destroyed it." Piper sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair, contemplating the problem. "You think there's something that we could do to help?"

"Honey, unfortunately, these problems seem to be more normal than magical," Piper told him. "I think the best thing to do is just let them work themselves out. Magical interference could just make things worse."

"I'm failing to see how much worse it could possibly get," Susan grumbled. "Aside from them both turning to evil, that is."

Chris winced slightly as his mother's face turned stony, obviously her thoughts turning to the other future. It had always been her greatest fear, that despite everything they'd done to prevent the other future from happening, one of them would turn evil. Especially Wyatt; she had always been more worried about Wyatt turning evil than him.

"What did I say?" Susan wondered as she looked at the looks from the family. She looked apprehensive.

"Uh . . . about twenty years ago, Chris came from the future to prevent Wyatt from turning evil," Piper said weakly. "And we barely managed to stop it." She turned her head and Susan looked guilty.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Oh, no, honey, you didn't know," Paige said gently, patting her arm gently. "It's okay, everybody makes a joke like that every once in awhile."

"The point is, what are we going to do?" Chris asked. "We can't just let them go on like this. Susan's right, it can't get any worse."

"What about a vision quest?"

All five of them jumped and Chris looked around to see his dad standing in the door in his magic school robes, looking around at the group. "You must be Susan," Leo said with a smile towards the young witchlighter. "Hi, it's nice to meet you."

"Hi," Susan said, smiling back at him.

"A vision quest," Phoebe said, obviously thinking about Leo's advice. "That's not a bad idea, actually. It might help Brooke find out which path she's supposed to be taking. But it could make things worse."

"What is a vision quest, exactly?" Susan asked, frowning. "I've never even heard of it. What, is it like forcing visions or something?"

"Well, it's more of finding answers," Phoebe explained. "You take a potion that's take you into a trance-like state. What you see while you're there is entirely up to you. I remember when I took mine, I saw Wyatt and Chris when they were little boys and I was pregnant with a little girl."

"Mel," Chris observed, his thoughts drifting towards his youngest cousin. Phoebe nodded. "Do you still have the recipe for the potion?"

"Yeah, it's up in the Book," Phoebe answered. Chris jumped up, heading up the stairs. Susan rose to join him and Phoebe patted her arm. "It'll be okay, sweetie. Things usually are," she said as an odd look came across her face.

"Are you okay?" Susan asked, startled. She looked as though she had seen something.

Phoebe's smile widened and she nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said in a strained voice. "Go and help Chris, all right?"

Susan, though bewildered, headed up the stairs after her boyfriend. Piper looked at her sister. "What is it?" she asked. "What did you see?"

"Oh, nothing," Phoebe said cheerfully. "Although I think you might want to get used to Susan being around here, Piper." Her sister raised an eyebrow. "Apparently, your baby boy is going to be the first Halliwell of their generation to get married," she squealed. Piper groaned.

--

"Are they always like that?" Susan inquired as she finally managed to find Chris in the attic, where he was pouring over the Halliwell's Book of Shadows, searching for the potion.

"Usually," he replied with a grin, looking up at her. "So, are you going to tell Brooke what she's gonna do or am I?"

"We are going to get those two in a room together and tell them what they're going to do," Susan responded. "It's not like they've got a better idea on how they're gonna fix this." She shook her head. "Thankfully, there's no demons after us at the moment, so we can actually work on this."

"Yeah," Chris sighed as he found the page. "Here it is." He dug into his pockets for a piece of paper and a pencil, but only came up with a pen. "You got a piece of paper?"

Susan rolled her eyes and tore a piece of paper out of her agenda that she kept in her pocket. "You need to keep more useful things in your pockets, Christopher," she commented.

"You sound like my mother when you call me by my full name," Chris complained.

"That's all right; she seems like a really cool person," Susan said, overlooking the obvious displeasure he was projecting. "So, we gonna make it here or head over to the apartment?"

"Head over there," Chris replied as he finally finished writing down the recipe. "That way we can ambush them when they come back." Susan nodded as they headed back downstairs, breezing past the sisters as they hurried outside. "Thanks, guys! See you later!"

"Be careful!" Piper yelled after them. "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do, Chris!" He blinked at her words, but overlooked them due to the situation, racing down to the car.

It took about ten minutes to get from the Halliwell manor to the brothers' apartment. By that time, Brooke had already burst into Wyatt's room and they had gotten into another argument.

Susan and Chris walked in on them as books and other numerous objects started falling off the walls as Wyatt's temper rose. "Uh, guys!" Susan tried to intervene, but neither one heard her. They were two busy with their argument to notice the two witchlighters that had walked in. "Guys!"

"Offhand, I'd say they're a bit too busy to listen," Chris observed. "Want me to try?"

Waving her hand at him, Susan watched with some amusement as Chris tried to get his brother's attention by throwing some dishes against the wall, obviously hoping that it would startle them. After several failed attempts—to which they would have to buy new dinnerware—Chris gave up and walked back over to Susan.

"Got any ideas?" he asked.

With a sigh, Susan glanced up towards the ceiling, closing her eyes. A loud thunderclap emerged and the lights flickered before coming back on. Brooke looked around and Wyatt jumped back, startled.

"That'll work," Chris said lightly as Susan opened her eyes again. "Remind me to call you if I ever need to get out of class because of demons. You could make it snow or something so we'd get off of school." He was grinning as he said this.

"Dude, totally personal gain," Susan told him, shaking her head. "Besides, I can only manipulate the weather, I can't just create it. Snow doesn't naturally happen in California too often, does it? I could do it back in Wisconsin, but it snows there a lot. If there was snow on the way here, then I could speed it up or push it towards us, but not just make it appear out of nowhere."

"Now that we've got that settled," Wyatt said angrily, "do you want to tell us why you scared the heck out of us?"

"Because you two are out of control," Chris told him. "And this is an intervention." Brooke stared at him, then at Susan, who met her gaze coolly. "Look, we put up with this for awhile, but this thing is out of hand. Now, we have a solution—or maybe a solution, a possible one, that could help."

"Don't look at me, Chris," Wyatt snapped, glaring at Brooke. "She's the one who didn't tell me that she was just using me as the rebound guy. Her feelings probably weren't even real."

"Rebound guy?" Chris repeated.

"Okay, enough is enough," Susan exclaimed. "Look, you two have got to settle this, because the two of you are driving me crazy. Not to mention, you are putting me in the middle of something that I would prefer not to be in the middle of."

Brooke blinked, glancing between the two brothers and Susan. None of them had realised that she was indeed in the middle of their argument. She was her best friend and Chris's girlfriend, which by association, put her in the middle of her argument with Wyatt. Suddenly, she felt very guilty about the entire thing. Wyatt too looked uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, Susan," he mumbled, looking down at his feet. Brooke nodded in agreement. "I just . . . don't like people using me."

"Despite the fact that Ryan and Brooke broke up, they didn't even have the chance to work things out, Wyatt," Susan told him calmly. "He died before they could even do that. And believe me, my brother would have tried to at least be friends with her and she would've been able to move on better from their break up."

Wyatt froze, looking at Susan incredulously. "Wait, your _brother_?" he echoed. "Your old boyfriend was her brother?"

"Yeah," Brooke said quietly as Susan looked at her curiously.

"That explains some things," Wyatt grumbled. "Fine, let's just say that we're gonna go along with this. How exactly were you going to fix this?"

"Brooke's gonna go on a vision quest," Chris said, moving towards the kitchen. Susan followed him, trailed by an incredulous Brooke and a bemused Wyatt. "To find out which path she should take. Now it's risky, it might make things worse, but it could help. I got the potion from Mom and the aunts."

"I'm still failing to see how much worse it could get," Susan said sceptically, shaking her head.

"What if I don't want to do this vision quest thing?" Brooke demanded.

Susan smiled sweetly at her. "Do you have a better idea?"

Looking at Wyatt, Brooke saw the apprehensive look in his eyes. Despite how angry he was, he wanted to fix things, to give them another chance. "Make the potion," she sighed.


	3. A Familiar Guide

**Legacy: Truth Unspoken**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Three: A Familiar Guide

"Okay, you're sure that this is going to work?" Brooke asked as Chris finished making the potion, pouring it into a cup. Susan nodded. "But what if something happens and I won't be able to get out of the quest? You guys might need my help with something!"

"Brooke," Susan said firmly, placing her hands on her hips. "I think we're gonna be in more trouble if you don't do something." Looking at her best friend, Brooke sighed.

"What do I do?" she said in a small voice.

"Take the potion and lay down," Chris instructed, handing over the cup. Brooke looked towards Wyatt, who met her gaze once before looking away, and downed the contents in one gulp before heading over to the couch and lying down. "Now, relax and just let yourself flow into yourself, to find the inner truth," he said, his voice calm and soothing.

Brooke closed her eyes as Susan began setting crystals around them, to protect her from demons if they attacked. Slowly, she began to feel herself taken away, to another time and place.

When she opened her eyes, she found that she was standing at the cemetery at Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, staring down at Ryan's grave. "Okay, what am I doing here?" she muttered, glancing around at her surroundings. It was completely empty, like a ghost town.

"Will somebody please tell me what the heck I am doing here?!" she screamed at the heavens. She looked around at her surroundings again, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. It wasn't like there were any guidelines to this.

She stopped when she saw the silhouette of a man walking around the corner, away from her. Blinking once, Brooke took off after him. If there was somebody here, then maybe they were supposed to help her. "Hey, will you slow down!" she yelled after him. "Can you please tell me what's happening?"

After a minute, the man slowed down to a stop, slowly turning around to face her and Brooke felt the blood drain from her face when his face was thrown into light.

He was Susan's own age, nineteen, with blond hair that hung into his face, fixed with determination, and into his blue eyes. Standing tall and thin, the young man who stood before her was one that she knew very well, and he looked exactly the same the last time that she'd seen him. Even the dark blue jeans, blue shirt, and jean jacket were the ones that he'd worn the last time that she remembered.

Brooke was breathing very heavily as she gaped at him and he only gave the cocky smile that she remembered to her. "Hi, Brooke," he said lightly.

Taking a deep swallow as she managed to pry her tongue from the roof of her mouth that had rendered her speechless. Her voice was shaking as she spoke his name.

"Ryan?"

He nodded once, never once removing his gaze from her as she continued to stare at him, hardly believing that she was really seeing him.

"What—what are you doing here? I mean, how can you be here, this isn't real, it's just a vision or . . ." Brooke stopped, not knowing what she was saying. Better to just stop talking. "How can you be here? Can ghosts come into vision quests?" she asked.

"Who says that I'm a ghost?" Ryan inquired with a smirk. Brooke stared at him, totally confused and shocked at seeing him here. "Considering that Susie and I are one-forth Whitelighter, what makes you think that I didn't become one after I died?"

"Did you?"

"Figure it out for yourself," Ryan said teasingly. "Don't try and figure out how I got here, though, Brooke. It'll just give you a headache. Basically," he added, "I'm your guide."

"My guide?" Brooke repeated. "To what?"

"To finding out where you're supposed to go, who you're supposed to be," Ryan replied as he walked down the street. Brooke followed him. "I was actually supposed to be guiding Susan, but she doesn't need much help anymore. Not since she met that boyfriend of hers. Which is a good thing," he added. "I wouldn't want her to destroy herself on my account. For now, all I have to do is watch her, to make sure she's going to be okay."

"She's still not entirely herself," Brooke said quietly. "She hasn't been the same since you died. I mean, it's been better since Chris came along, but it's still . . . she's different."

"So are you. You're different than you used to be. Change sometimes can be better. If I hadn't died, then you and Susan never would have come to California and she never would've met Chris. Did you ever think about that?"

"I thought this quest was supposed to be figuring me out," Brooke grumbled. "Ryan, I . . . I'm sorry for what I did and what I said. It wasn't your fault, my going off and sleeping with . . ." She couldn't finish the sentence. "Anyway, I'm sorry."

"Me, too," Ryan agreed. "But we both were at fault, Brooke. Both of us could've done a bit more listening than we did those last few months. But our breaking up was for the best," he added, glancing at her. "It saved Susan's life. And I'll never once regret that."

Brooke looked at him. "What do you mean?" she whispered. How could their break-up saved Susan's life?

Ryan glanced at her. Their surroundings swirled and began to transform around them, turning into her parents' house. "What are we doing here?" she asked just as she saw herself walking down the staircase. She shrieked, jumping backwards and Ryan caught her before she hit the kitchen table. "What is going on here?"

"Don't worry, she can't see us," Ryan said cheerfully just as another version of himself came out. But this was a darker Ryan, so much unlike the one that she knew and loved. He was also slightly drunk.

"Honey, you really need to get to work," Vision-Brooke said hesitantly. Vision-Ryan made no response. "Listen, I know that it's hard, but it's time that we both moved on. She's gone and nothing is going to bring her back! We have things to do, Ryan! We've got bills to pay and a kid to take care of!"

"That's not my problem," Vision-Ryan sneered. His wife gaped at him, shocked. "How do I even now the brat's mine?"

Vision-Brooke slapped him across the face so hard that Brooke was sure that she broke his nose. "How dare you?" she hissed. "How dare you accuse me of that when you are the one who spends half of his time at the bar, or at work? We never even see you anymore, Ryan! And the worst part about it is that our daughter does not even know you."

"I could really care less," Vision-Ryan said coldly, heading into the kitchen. Vision-Brooke stared after him before cries emerged from upstairs and she went to answer them.

"We had a horrible marriage, Brooke," Ryan said, "mostly because I wasn't able to move on from Susan's death. By not breaking up, I went out with you that night. Remember, we had plans that night that were cancelled after we broke up?" Brooke nodded; she remembered. They were going to go to Katie's party that night. "And my mom and Susan were alone that night. Simply by my absence, it caused Susan's death."

"Why?" Brooke whispered. "Because of a car accident? Why would it simply change because one person wasn't there?"

A look crossed Ryan's face and he looked away. "It wasn't a car accident," he said quietly.

"What?"

--

Susan stared at Brooke as she shifted uncomfortably in her dream-like state and whispered, "Ryan?" She glanced sideways at Wyatt, who had retained a stony expression ever since she said her brother's name. It would've been interesting to see what Brooke was seeing, but that was for her eyes alone. No one else could see what she was seeing, because she had to see this for herself, no one else.

Chris pushed a cup of hot tea underneath her nose and she looked up at him. "Here, it's not good sitting and worrying," he said lightly. Susan chuckled as she accepted the mug. "Sue, you said yourself that this was probably the only way to fix this."

"Well, a girl is allowed to be a little pessimistic, isn't she?" Susan argued, making a face at him. "I'm just a little worried about what your aunt said, about it making things worse."

"I'm sure that it's not going to turn out that way," Chris said comfortingly. Wyatt sighed as he stood up.

"Where you going?" Susan asked, glancing towards the elder Halliwell questioningly.

"Just outside," he replied. "I can't stand all of this waiting; I need to get some fresh air." He headed outside onto the balcony, closing the glass door behind him. Susan sighed and leaned against Chris.

"So if this doesn't work, do we happen to have a Plan B?" she inquired, glancing up at him.

"I'd vote for locking them into a room, but somehow I think that would make things worse," Chris replied. Susan chuckled. "I'm still working on a Plan B. Hopefully, we won't need one."

"With the way Brooke is, I'd say that we'd better figure one out," Susan told him with a sigh. "Especially lately."

Chris smiled slightly as Susan felt someone approach from behind them, hidden within the shadows. She immediately tightened her grip on Chris's hand in warning.

"What?" he immediately asked and she shook her head quickly.

Getting to her feet, she cast a careful glance around, wondering where the person who was standing there was. Or demon that was standing there. She could _sense_ them, but she couldn't see them. From the look on Chris's face, he couldn't see the demon any more than she could.

Before she could even react, an energy ball came flying out of nowhere, sent directly towards Susan. She ducked to avoid it, only to look up to see it frozen in midair and let out a breath of relief.

Wyatt lowered his hand, glaring towards the shadows carefully. Chris was the first one to stage the first attack. Thrusting his hand towards the frozen energy ball, he sent it back towards their attacker, forcing the demon out from the shadows.

To Susan's complete surprise, the demon was a woman with short blonde hair staring at her in complete disbelief. Wyatt flicked his wrists to freeze the woman, but she remained completely mobile.

"Wy?" Chris asked worriedly.

"I can't freeze her," Wyatt whispered, panic rising through his voice as he gaped at the woman. "Who are you? What do you want?"

But the woman didn't even seem to hear him, continuing to stare at Susan in complete shock. "He asked you a question," she said angrily. "Who are you and what do you want?"

The woman shook her head, something of confusion in her eyes as she continued to stare at Susan. "Celandine?" she whispered.

Susan froze, a ripple of confusion running through her as she heard her mother's name. People back home always commented that she bore a remarkable resemblance to her mother, but for a demon to confuse her with her mother wasn't something she was expecting. "Who are you?" she whispered, although she thought that she knew. But that was impossible, wasn't it? This woman . . . she couldn't have been her mother's charge, could she? The one that her father had successfully turned evil and married? Because if she was, then she was her stepmother.

With an almost frightened look at her, the woman vanished through the air, leaving the four witches alone in the apartment, three of them completely bewildered. As for the forth one, she was still deep in her trance, finding truth that had been kept from them.

Truth that if it became known, could change the very future of their existence.


	4. A Secret Uncovered

**Legacy: Truth Unspoken**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Four: A Secret Uncovered

Brooke didn't know what to think as she stared at Ryan, incredulous. "Hold on a second, what do you mean, it wasn't a car accident?" she demanded, not understanding. "Susan was there, she saw everything . . . how could it not have been a car accident?"

"She didn't see what she thought she saw!" Ryan insisted. "It was a spell, to make her think that it was an accident." Brooke froze. "Cast by our father, who attacked our house that night."

"Your father?" Brooke shook her head. In all the time that she had known the Dawsons, neither Susan nor Ryan had never once mentioned their father. She simply assumed that they had never had contact with him since they were born. Certainly he had never come to visit them.

"Yeah," Ryan said quietly as the scene changed around them. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but there a things happening that you need to be prepared for, Brooke. But you have to promise me something. Susan does not find out about this, okay? Not until she's ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Trust me, you'll know when she's ready." Ryan met her gaze evenly and she swallowed. "You have to promise or I won't show you anything."

Brooke hesitated, torn between curiosity and loyalty to her best friend, but nodded. "I promise."

Ryan let out a sigh, relieved, as they arrived at the Dawson house. And as they stepped inside the home, they were no more than apparitions, simply observing the scene that lay before them. And even if she had wanted to, Brooke couldn't have changed this. Because she wasn't really there.

**Flashback**

_Celandine Dawson added another ingredient to the soup that she was making for the evening meal, glancing upwards to smile dryly at the sounds of laughter coming from her twin children. "Susan, Ryan, come down!" she called. "Dinner will be soon and I need you to set the table!" _

_"We'll be there in a minute, Mom!" Susan yelled, but she could still hear her daughter's laughter. _

What are those two up to?_ she wondered as she returned to the soup. Ever since Ryan had started dating Brooke Murphy, things had been different around the house. Still, Susan's attitude towards her had completely changed, mostly because Ryan loved her so much. _

_Of course, it had completely thrown her when Ryan announced two months ago that he and Brooke were engaged. Her baby boy was going to be married . . . it made her realise just how little time she had left with her two babies. They were both growing up. _

_Maybe tomorrow she would take off work and they could go down to the park and have a picnic, she thought. It would be nice to spend some time with her children just relaxing. _

_So wrapped up in her own musings, Celandine never saw someone come up behind her, not until the man was right behind her, a fireball appearing in his hand, gathering energy as he held it. "Hello, Celandine." _

_She whirled around at the sound of his voice, staring at him in a mixture of shock and loathing. "Peter," she hissed, her fingernails scratching the counter behind her. The soup was bubbling over, but she didn't even take any notice of it. Her attention was focused solely on the man in front of her. "So you've finally come at last. I've been expecting you." _

_"And here I am," Peter replied coolly. "Tell me, did you think you could escape this, Celandine? After all, taking something that's mine and not even telling me about it . . ." _

_"If you had, you would've tried to kill me and my children before they were born," Celandine threw at him. Peter smiled indifferently. "Where did the witch that I watched over go?" _

_"He saw the error of his ways," Peter said. "And now, I'm going to make sure that you don't get in my way." _

_Celandine wasn't a witch. But she was still a Whitelighter and she cast her protection over her children, for as long as she could, to shield them from Peter Connelly as long as possible. _

_Ryan and Susan both looked up as they felt their mother's protection wrap around them, shielding her children from whatever danger awaited them. But without warning, it suddenly broke. _

_"Mom!" Susan jumped up, heading out the door with Ryan at her heels. Both knew the reason why their mother's protection would be suddenly broken off, but his sister wasn't seeing reason at the moment. She wouldn't believe in until she saw it with her own eyes. _

_"Susan, come back!" Ryan hollered. He knew that they weren't alone; whatever had killed their mother was still there. _

_His sister suddenly stopped at the sound of his voice, her eyes going wide as she saw the figure that stood before them. Ryan grasped his sister, concentrating and his molecules expanded, disappearing into the air. The man looked around to find them, but with his invisibility power, he couldn't see them. Ryan felt relieved as he held Susan, moving them to get outside, but he came across a block, which startled him so much that they were thrown against the floor. Susan gasped in surprise, falling back. _

_Ryan sat, dazed, before he realised that the man was holding a fireball in his hand, directing it towards his sister. As he thrust it towards her, he screamed, "Susan, move!" _

_With such swiftness that he didn't know he possessed, he raced towards his sister, tackling her. Susan was shoved unceremoniously out of the way, her head hitting the wall from the force and knocking her unconscious. Ryan, after shoving his sister out of the way, was hit with the fireball with such massive force that he was flung through the air and landed on top of his sister. But he was dead even before he hit the ground. _

_"Smart boy," the man cackled. "You don't even know what you did, do you? The prophecy will never come true, with you gone." He waved his hand across Susan, a soft glow emerging from her as he did so. "Fortunately, you'll never be able to tell what really happened, girl. And if you do, then nobody is going to believe you. Take care of this mess," he added as Bobby materialised in from behind. _

_When Bobby took the family to the car and drove it into a pole, destroying it to bits, he made sure that Susan was outside, safe. As sirens wailed in the distance, he walked over to the witchlighter. _

"Spell that was cast to make thee forget,

will slowly disappear, return memories that were kept.

And when meet thy father once more,

return in full to the core."

_The spell was cast over Susan, Bobby stood up, looking around at the mess before looking down at Susan one last time, that longing look still on his face as he vanished from sight. And the murders were turned into an accident, leaving the last Dawson an orphan. _

**End Flashback**

"He was there," Brooke whispered in shock as she watched in play out. "That Bobby kid, he was there. He . . . he helped Susan to regain her memories? But why? I'm not even sure I really trust him. Who is he?"

"That's not part of why we're here, Brooke," Ryan replied, looking remarkably calm as he watched his death again. "I can't tell you that part, mostly because I know you'll never be able to keep this a secret. But I can tell you that he would never harm Susan. He won't be able to, even if it came down to his own life. You need to make her understand that he's there to help you guys. Destiny commands it of him."

"And what was that prophecy that your father was talking about?" Brooke asked.

Ryan shook his head. "I'm not sure, to be perfectly honest. I've been trying to figure that one out, but there's nothing Up There to even tell what it is that he meant. All I know is that it's important."

Brooke nodded once, looking helpless. "But I still don't understand, how is all this supposed to help me decide what I'm supposed to do with Wyatt?"

"You already know what you're supposed to do with Wyatt," Ryan replied solemnly. "Do you honestly think that you'd be working this hard to work things out if you didn't?" Brooke stopped, realising he was right. All of those boys that she had dated before Ryan . . . never once had she tried to make amends, to try and work it out with them. "It's going to turn out fine, Brooke. You two are meant to be together."

"You mean, get married, have a bunch of kids, all of that junk?" Brooke said dryly.

"I don't know," he replied. "But he is there to help you move on after my death, to help you realise that you can't hold yourself responsible for what happened. Everything happens for a reason, you know that. Which means that there is a reason you and Susan were brought into the Halliwells' lives," he added. "All four of you have a destiny ahead of you. And you'd better best be prepared when you finally meet it."

--

"Nothing," Wyatt announced as he slammed the Book shut angrily. "There's no sign of that demon in here anywhere. I swear, your Book is useless. I'm going over to our Book to see if there's anything in there." He orbed out before either Susan or Chris could stop him.

Chris sighed as he sat down across from Susan, who was lost in thought as she stared across the kitchen. "You all right?"

"I'm fine," she told him. "Just . . . thinking about that demon, is all." Chris raised his eyebrows in question and she sighed. "Okay, I just was worried about . . . why she called me by my mom's name." Chris frowned. "My mom's name was Celandine and . . . and she called me that."

"Wait a second, she knew your mom?" Chris asked, making sure that he understood this right. How was that possible? How could that demon know Susan's mom? From what Susan had said, her mother was a Whitelighter, or at least half of one with mortal being her other half. How could she have known this demon?

"I think so," Susan said, placing her head into her hand. "And I think that's why that we can't find her in the Book. Because she's not a demon. If she is who I think she is, then she's my stepmother."

Chris's mouth fell open at her predicament. "Your . . . she's . . . what?"

"My mother never told me who my father was, only that he was one of her charges when she still looked after witches," Susan sighed. "She refused to guide any more witches after that, only future Whitelighters. And . . ." Susan let out another sigh. "And she had two charges. My father and her best friend. After he got her pregnant with Ryan and me, she found out that they were cheating on her and that my father had turned to evil. He became a dark witch and successfully turned her evil." Susan shook her head.

"Your dad is a dark witch?" Chris echoed, hardly believing his ears. "I mean, how is that possible?"

"Something corrupted him when he was young," Susan said, "according to Mom. I don't know what it was, but it swayed him to evil, poisoned him irreversibly. Something more powerful than any demon alive. But she never knew what it was."

"And . . . who is your dad?" Chris asked, dreading the very thought of it. "What's his name?" But even as she raised her head to look at him, Chris wasn't even sure that he wanted to know the answer.

Susan shook her head. "I don't know," she confessed. "Mom would never tell either of us. Whenever Ryan or I asked her that, she would get this sad expression on her face. And she would tell us that we would only know who our father was when it was essential to know." Chris nodded. "But . . . now I'm worried about something, Chris. She said essential. But . . . essential for who?"

Chris had no answers for her. "Do you think maybe we should call Brandon for help?" he asked.

She made a face; despite that she had, however reluctantly, accepted a Whitelighter, that didn't mean she was totally okay with it. Her feelings for the Elders boarded on hate, though she hadn't explained why.

"Fine," she grumbled. "But I swear, the minute that he goes to the Elders for help, I am kicking him out of here." Chris grinned as she glanced up at the ceiling. "Brandon?"

However, no Whitelighter appeared before them and the two witchlighters looked at each other in confusion.

"Brandon!" Susan yelled, trying again, louder this time. But it didn't make any difference. No matter how loud or softly someone yelled for a Whitelighter, they could always hear it. "Brandon James, you get down here right now!"

Still, he didn't orb in, despite Susan's angry voice. Chris was instantly reminded of why exactly he didn't want to get on her bad side. She was the most caring person he knew, yet she could still lose her temper if she got mad enough.

"Where is he at?" Susan wondered after several minutes of yelling for Brandon and still no sign of him. Chris shook his head, glancing at the still sleeping Brooke as her vision quest continued.


	5. You Can Have it Both Ways

**Legacy: Truth Unspoken**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Five: "You Can Have it Both Ways"

"So, I have to ask you something, about what you said before," Brooke asked quietly as she and Ryan walked through the streets of Chippewa Falls. "About how I can't tell Susan about what happened until she's ready. What exactly is it that she has to be ready for?"

"Ready to learn," Ryan asked softly. "Learn the truth about what happened and see things for what they really are. I love my sister, Brooke, but she often times can't see things for what they, sticking to the illusion of reality. And there are two things that all of you are sticking to the illusion of right now."

"Well, I'd say that one of them is most likely the Bobby kid," Brooke grumbled. Ryan grinned. "What's the other one?"

Ryan gave her a smirk. "Do you honestly expect me to answer that?" he inquired.

"You can't blame a girl for trying," Brooke responded, batting her eyelashes playfully. Ryan grinned and hugged her around the shoulders. Brooke held him for a minute, but for the first time, she wished that she were in the arms of another man, someone who had taken her heart.

"Brooke, you know that it's all right to move on," Ryan told her. "I wouldn't take the time we had together back for anything, but you and I both know that things would've turned out worse than we anticipated. You saw the results back there."

"I don't know," Brooke said softly, looking in the distance. "You know, maybe Susan was right and I moved on too fast. It's just . . . I don't understand why this had to happen. Susan is happy with Chris and I want to be happy with Wyatt without feeling guilty. But I was also happy with you back in Chippewa Falls and I loved you. I still do."

"Who says that you can't have it both ways?" Ryan asked her. "Widowers remarry after their spouses die, Brooke, but that doesn't mean that they stopped loving the first person they were married to. I'll always love you, but you have to find your own path. You can be happy with Wyatt, too, and still love me. There's no reason why you shouldn't or why you should feel guilty."

"But why did this have to happen?" Brooke asked him helplessly. "I need to know why. In this future I lost the love of my life. In that other one we saw, I lost my best friend." She shook her head. "Please, Ryan, just . . . just tell me why it had to be one or the other."

Ryan sighed. "Truth?" She nodded. "It's because of that prophecy, even though I don't know the exact specifics of it. All I know is that in this future, the one that we created by breaking up, Peter killed the wrong twin." Brooke blinked. "He wanted to stop the prophecy from coming true and Susan's a part of that. So are you and so are the Halliwells."

"But . . . why?" Brooke shook her head. "How could he know about the prophecy and nobody else not? What do those Elders do Up There all day? Why aren't They trying to figure this out?"

"Oh, They are," Ryan assured her, "but they're not making progress. See, about twenty or so years ago, the Titans attacked Up There—"

"The Titans?" Brooke repeated. "I thought they were a myth."

"Nah, they're real enough. Or were. Chris and Wyatt's mom and aunts destroyed them after they killed a bunch of Elders and created a bunch of weather problems around the globe. Anyway, there was a bunch of prophecies Up There and They think that the one about you guys was destroyed when the Titans starting throwing fireballs around Up There. So unfortunately, the clue that we need was destroyed over two decades ago."

They had walked to his grave now and Brooke saw that there were freshly laid flowers on it. "Hey, who did that?" she asked.

"Susan," Ryan replied. "She comes over here every once in awhile to put flowers down here. It's hard for her, but she doesn't give up. That's what makes her so strong," he added, glancing at Brooke. "She's a survivor. Even when things are hard, she always fights back."

Brooke blinked; she had never considered Susan to be strong. Ryan had always been the strong one and Susan had always relied on the two of them to be the stronger ones. But now, she realised, she had been wrong. Susan had a surprising inner strength, a capacity for endurance beyond the ordinary.

"Why didn't she tell me that she comes out here?" Brooke asked, startled that her best friend had kept it so secret from her.

"At first, she was probably still angry with you," Ryan replied dryly. "But afterwards, she didn't want to add to your problems with Wyatt. I'm always there when she comes and I know she can sense me. Actually," he added more quietly, "I'm with her more than she realises."

"You don't spy on her during a private moment, do you?" Brooke accused. "That's dirty, even for you. Besides, there a certain boundaries that brothers are not allowed to cross."

"Like she and Chris are doing that," Ryan snorted. "Please, I think I know my sister a little bit better than that. She's not going to sleep with anybody until she knows for sure that she's in love with them and that they're in love with her. And while she and Chris are well on their way, they're not there yet."

"She's . . ." Brooke sighed. "She's always been so different. Sometimes, I don't understand her."

"That's what makes her so special," Ryan replied. "And I wouldn't change her for the world."

Brooke smiled slightly. "Neither would I," she agreed. "But I wish I could know what my future held."

"You think that I can answer that?" Ryan asked incredulously. "Brooke, everyone's life changes because of the choices that we make. For better or worse, every choice that we make changes our future, alters it. You've seen that. If I hadn't broken things off with you, then we would've gone to that party and Susan would've suffered my fate. And then we would have led horrible lives, filled with bitterness and anger."

He smiled at her as she nodded, looking away. "Find some happiness for yourself, Brooke. If it be with Wyatt, then go for it. Life's too short. Best to cling to it while you can." Glancing towards something, he looked back at her. "Go on, they're waiting for you."

--

Brooke's eyelids fluttered open as she moaned slightly, turning her head towards the two witchlighters, who jumped up as she started to wake. Susan was at her best friend's side instantly, helping her to sit up. "Okay, okay, easy, slow breaths," she instructed. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Brooke groaned. "Oh, my head . . ." She massaged her temples tenderly as she glanced up at Susan and Chris before looking around the room curiously. "Man, that was intense. But, uh . . ." She frowned. "Aren't we missing somebody?"

Susan laughed nervously. "Yeah, we had a demon attack while you were sleeping and, uh . . . he went to go do some research back at the manor."

"Apparently Sue's is not extended enough," Chris explained. "Although I've got to admit, there are a lot of spells and demons in there that I haven't even seen in our Book."

"Yeah, I'm not sure even where Mom got it," Susan admitted, frowning as she raked her hair absently. "She just gave it to Ryan and me when we turned thirteen, said that it belonged to us. It was our heritage."

"So . . . maybe she got it from your dad," Brooke said hesitantly, worried about bringing up that subject.

Almost instantly, a clouded look crossed Susan's face and she winced slightly, glancing at Chris. "I don't have a dad, Brooke," she said sharply, in a tone that said it wasn't to be argued with. "I have a _father_. There's a big difference, as far as I'm concerned."

Brooke sighed, pushing herself to her feet and walking across the room, where she saw an energy ball had been struck, due to the scorch mark. "Okay, what kind of demon are we talking about here?"

"Speaking of your father . . ." Chris said lightly, glancing towards Susan, who glared at him.

"What am I missing?" Brooke asked, placing her hands on her hips to stare at the other two.

"Susan thinks that the demon who attacked us today is her stepmother," Chris replied without missing a beat. Susan was sending him deathly looks. "And I have to agree with her, because no demon would ever address someone by the first name unless they were acquainted with them."

"Wait, the demon called you by your first name?" Brooke asked, completely bewildered.

"No, she called me by my mom's name."

"Okay, so why would a demon be acquainted with your mother and how would you get the demon being your stepmother just by that?"

"Because my mother's charge married my father after he lured her to evil," Susan replied, looking as though she had explained this one too many times. "And she isn't a demon . . . not exactly. She's more of what . . . we call a dark witch, I guess. I mean, she's not exactly a warlock."

"That does not mean she's not as dangerous, especially if she knows who you are," Chris pointed out. "If your dad—father turned her to evil, then we have no idea what she's capable of. Look, can we just find out who she was, so we can find out as much as we can about her, please? I mean, you know her name, don't you?"

The look that Susan gave him was pure exasperation. "Chris," she said, "I don't even know my father's name, let alone my stepmother's. We don't have anything to go on here." The younger Halliwell sighed as she looked at Brooke. "What happened on the vision quest?"

Brooke prayed that nothing showed on her face. "I didn't need to see anything that I didn't already know," she said quietly. They waited. "Susan, you remember when I used to be that wild girl, always partying, always having fun, going after every boy that would sleep with me?" Susan nodded. "I never tried to work things out when things went wrong with those guys. And . . . I didn't feel anything. I still love Ryan and I probably always will, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to work things out with Wyatt." She smiled. "It doesn't have to be one way or the other. I can have past loves and current ones."

Susan smiled slightly as she walked towards Brooke and hugged her best friend tightly. "Sounds like something Ryan would say," she remarked.

Speaking so quietly that Susan didn't hear her, Brooke murmured, "He did." But Susan didn't hear, although Chris's eyebrows narrowed together slightly, as white orbs appeared in the kitchen and Wyatt appeared, looking startled and wary as he looked at Brooke.

"Hi," he said, suddenly becoming very interested in his fingers. Brooke opened her mouth to speak, but he cut across her. "Look, I know probably just figured out that you're really screwed up and very confused and I completely understand that. So I guess that this—"

Before he could continue, Brooke seized his shoulders and pushed him against the wall. Susan and Chris gawked at this as she glared at Wyatt. "Will you just shut up?" she demanded. And kissed him.

She gave him a kiss that she had never given anyone, one that told him at once what her answer was. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling his tighten around her and holding her so tightly that she knew that this was the right choice. It felt so . . . right in his arms.

Susan cleared her throat, interrupting the moment. "Uh . . . guys, you're kind of blocking the door so we can escape this," she remarked. Both she and Chris were bright red.

"It's not like we wanted to see all those times you were kissing," Brooke pointed out, twisting herself around in Wyatt's embrace so she could look directly at Susan. "Besides, uh . . . I think you're kind of forgetting that both of you can orb."

"So not the point." Susan shook her head as orb lights appeared in the living room and Brandon James appeared, looking at the four interestedly. "Finally! Where have you been?" she demanded, walking out to glare at him in annoyance. "You know, what is the point of my even having a Whitelighter if he's never around to hear my call?"

"Oh, Susan, I'm flattered," Brandon said, grinning. "You admit that you actually have need of me?"

Susan let out an exasperated noise as Chris rolled his eyes. "You are this close to getting a black eye, mister," she threatened, walking away.

"We got a demon attack today," Chris explained as she rejoined him in the kitchen. "And we kind of want you to know if you knew anything. Blonde woman, using energy balls, and she kind of addressed Susan as her mother, so Susan thinks—"

"That she's her stepmother," Brandon finished up for her. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Don't worry, I'll check it out, but we don't need to worry about it right now. Work's done for today." He grinned.

Susan shook her head. "If I didn't know any better," she remarked, "then I would say that he was Ryan's incarnation."

Brooke laughed as Chris and Wyatt chuckled. "Yeah," she said, grinning at her best friend. "Like _that_ could ever happen."

Brandon only smiled mysteriously in reply.


	6. The Connellys

**Legacy: Truth Unspoken**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Six: The Connellys

Bobby Connelly flipped through his math book, chewing on his pencil as he struggled to figure out the problem. "What's the point of even knowing this stuff, anyway?" he grumbled as he tossed yet another paper away. A pile of it lay at his feet. "It's not like I'm gonna know it for the life Dad's got me planned out for me."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I need a break," he sighed, pushing his chair back and heading downstairs. It wasn't like he hadn't been doing this for a couple of hours. He was well within his rights to take a break.

Although, he thought, if his father found out that he was downstairs, he'd have to come up with a reason why he wasn't studying. Because the only reason why he got off from demon duty tonight was because he needed to study. That and because his mother was home and for once, she seemed to have a little bit of control. The spell his father cast on her had done quite a number on his mother.

Peering out of the room, he hurried downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing a soda and bag of chips before quickly heading upstairs, hoping to get back before anyone saw him.

Unfortunately, this attempt proved futile, as a blonde woman materialised in front of him moments before he was safe in his room. He let out a sigh of relief, however, when he recognised her.

"Mom," he said as she walked towards him, hugging him. "What are you doing home? I thought Dad had you out on some assignment." He was scared to death of what his father might do to her if he found out that she'd disobeyed him. The last time that he'd disobeyed his father, he'd been locked up in a closet for three weeks. He'd never defied his father again.

"That doesn't matter," Deidre Connelly said, kissing her son's forehead gently. "Aren't you supposed to be studying?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Well, you should get back to it, before your father finds you here. Go on, sweetie," she said, ushering him back into his room. "Don't come back down, whatever you hear."

"Mom," Bobby said, stopping her before she locked him in. "Who was the witch you were supposed to assassinate tonight?" He had a horrible feeling that he knew.

Deidre's eyes clouded over as she stared at him, but not really seeing. "Celandine's girl," she whispered. Bobby swallowed, hoping she wouldn't see through him. "Hurry up, son." She closed the door and locked it securely behind him, leaving him alone.

Bobby stared at the door, unable to believe his ears as he slowly sat down on the chair, not hungry anymore.

His father had commanded his wife to kill Susan, the last remaining member of the Cromwell line with any alliance to good. Which meant that he was afraid of her. But why? What did Susan have that he was so afraid of? It wasn't like she knew the truth about what happened that night . . . unless his father had met her, in which case her memories would've been returned in full.

It had been reckless, even dangerous, to meddle with her memories like that. Casting a spell which interacted with his father's could've damaged her permanently. But considering how he'd seen her, happy—well, maybe not exactly happy, but content—and healthy, the spell hadn't done any damage. He just couldn't bear the thought of her living the rest of her life a lie. It hadn't been an accident. His father had killed her mother and brother out of pure hate and cold blood.

Curling up on the chair, Bobby rested his head onto his knee, trying to figure out what to do. If his father was going after Susan, then didn't she deserve to know? Didn't she _need_ to know, in order to survive?

"Will somebody please tell me what it is that I need to do?" Bobby whispered, glancing up towards the heavens. He knew the Elders would be of no help, because they didn't trust him due to the fact he was Peter and Deidre Connelly's son, but it was worth a shot.

However, there was no answer from the Elders, nor from anybody else. He was completely alone, just like he had been his entire life. There was no one to help him with this one, just like Susan had to deal with this on her own.

_No, she doesn't_, the good guy side of him told him fiercely. _She's got you. And you have her, even if she doesn't know it yet. Her instincts will be to protect you. Trust her. You have got to tell her. _

_Tell her what? _the bad boy side of him asked recklessly. Bobby made a face; he hated it when his conscious played mind games with him. It was really annoying. _That Peter Connelly had another child after he abandoned her mother and corrupted her charge, her best friend, and married her? That you're her half-brother? Do you think she'll believe you? Do you think she'll trust you if you tell her that?_

Bobby sighed as he leaned his head back, trying to figure out what to do about this. If he was completely honest with himself, then he would love nothing more than to run away from home and go to his sister, tell her who he was, and she would welcome him with open arms.

But life wasn't like that. He doubted she would welcome him like that, especially since she'd lost her—their—brother less than six months ago. She probably wouldn't be so willing to let someone into her heart, especially a half-brother, after such a loss.

Walking over to the window, Bobby stared up at the sky helplessly as stars began to glitter in the sky. "Star light, star bright," he said, quoting the old nursery rhyme. "First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." _I want my sister to know who I am. Please help me find a way to help her. _

His eyes were shut as he thought this, so he didn't see the stars seemingly to twinkle in reply.

--

Deirdre barged into her husband's office without even knocking. "Out," she snapped at the demons who were speaking with Peter. When they didn't move, she shouted, "NOW!" Conjuring an energy ball, she prepared to throw it at them when they shimmered out.

Peter didn't even appeared surprised to see her there, as he placed some papers in a file, standing up and walking over to put it into the cabinet. "Must you interrupt my meetings?"

Not bothering with pleasantries, she threw the energy ball at his desk, making it explode.

"How dare you?" she shrieked. "How dare you even think about forcing me to kill that innocent girl? You filthy warlock!" She struck him across the face; he didn't even flinch. "Are you going to stand up and defend yourself like a man or just stand there?"

"Oh, but I am not a man, Deidre," Peter said lightly. "I am much more than that, as you know. There are powers that I possess few witches even dream of. I have become everything I ever hoped for and more."

"Except the man I married," Deidre said in disgust. "You are not Peter Connelly anymore. Not since the day that you swore allegiance to that monster and forced me to turn. If I hadn't been pregnant, I certainly would have left."

"And you exposed our son to the evil you hate so much," Peter said, glancing at her. "If you hate it so much, then why didn't you bother trying to save him? Oh, that's right, because you can't. You can't escape me. You can't defy me, because you know what will happen if you do."

Deidre felt her heart tremble at the thought of him casting the controlling spell again. He would force her to kill her own son. He'd already forced her to kill innocents because of the spell . . . witches . . .

"I can't kill Celandine's daughter, Peter," she said flatly. And not because she wouldn't either, she thought. She doubted that she had the power to stop the girl. "She's too powerful. I barely escaped with my life tonight."

"So double the guard, get her away from the Halliwells," Peter said carelessly, taking a seat. "I want that girl dead."

"If that's what you care about, then why didn't you just do it the night that you killed your son and his mother?" Deidre asked recklessly. She went too far with that statement.

Peter lunged to his feet, seized her and threw her onto the floor, grabbing an athames and holding it at her throat. "Are you afraid, woman?" he hissed. "I think you are forgetting that you are sworn to me. And not just as my servant to my master, but as my _wife_!" he spat at her. "I will not have you disobey me or I will kill you. Then who will protect your precious son?"

Deidre was white as he let her up. "She will not be so easy to kidnap, Peter," she whispered. "The Halliwells are with her at all times, so is the nymph girl. I mean, we cannot catch her alone."

"No, we cannot," Peter agreed. "I will not chance meeting her until I am ready. _You_ will catch her. And if you won't kill her, then I will."

Shaking her head and trying to stop the tears that threatened to spill, Deidre stared at Peter. "She's your daughter," she whispered.

Peter glanced up at her. "No, that is entirely incorrect," he replied, speaking as though they were in a classroom, where he was the teacher and she the student. "I only fathered her. But I never once claimed that witch as my own, nor will I ever. She will die at my hands or yours. And she is going to join her brother one way or another."

Although it was probably the wrong thing to say, Deidre asked quietly, "Which one?" Then she walked from the room before he could comment or seize her, heading up the stairs to her son's room.

Bobby was at his desk, writing ferociously on a pad of paper as she unlocked the door and walked in, sitting down on the chair next to him. "Can't figure it out?" she asked gently and began to help him through the problems. And for a fraction of a moment, it seemed like they were all right, like they were mother and son again.

But Deidre knew that one day soon, things would change. She had to save him before it was too late, before Peter decided that Bobby was old enough to be useful other than guard duty. And she knew that the only person who could possibly help her was the person who would help her least.

Susan Dawson.

--

Peter stared angrily after his wife as she vanished. "How dare she say that?" he hissed. "That girl is far too good to even consider coming over to evil. And if that boy defies me, he is going to learn what pain really is."

He had to come up with a plan in order to lure Susan away from the Halliwells. Time was of the essence. Four had already come together, although he hadn't believed it at first. He hadn't realised until now that he had killed the wrong twin.

How could he have been so foolish? Obviously, the girl was just as powerful as her brother and therefore just as much as a threat. He should have gotten rid of her while he had the chance. If everything was destroyed because of that mistake, then he would be punished severely.

Peter relaxed suddenly. There was no need to panic. They had no idea of the prophecy, nor its contents, so they had no idea that the fifth was beyond reach. Even he had no idea of the fifth witch's identity, but so long as they knew nothing of it either, things would turn out to be just fine.

If he could keep them from forming the circle of five, then they wouldn't stand a chance against the evil that threatened this world. It was approaching, slowly now but soon to come faster, and as long as the five never became one, the circle would never form and good would be overcome by it.


	7. Survivors

**Legacy: Truth Unspoken**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Seven: Survivors

Susan frowned slightly as she studied the two outfits that Brooke presented to her, trying to decide. "Oh, I don't know," she admitted as she laid her hands on the bedpost, pressing her forehead against it. "They're both really cute, but what exactly are we going for? Typical Brooke Murphy first date or 'I want to have a really nice time that doesn't end up how my first dates usually end up' first date?"

"I'm not exactly sure, to be honest," Brooke admitted. "I mean, we both agreed to take things slow, but I'm not sure how that's going to last. Clearly, he has had just as much experience as me. How could he not, when he's that hot?"

With a soft laugh, Susan shook her head, getting up and going into the closet, digging into it. "What are you doing?" Brooke asked. "I asked you to help me choose, not pick out another outfit."

"Because Wyatt is going to be here in a half-hour, which means you need to get ready," Susan answered, digging further into it. "How about this?" she inquired, holding up a pale green dress. "It's nice and comfy and you will both be comfortable, plus it's only one layer—two if you throw a sweater on. So if at any time, you want to go into 'Typical Brooke Murphy' first date mode, it'll be nice and easy." Brooke frowned as she looked at the dress, trying to decide. "At least go try it on."

Brooke practically bounced out of the room, heading for the bathroom. Susan shook her head, glancing towards the mess that Brooke had made. Conjuring up the winds, she directed them back towards the hangers and into the closet. By the time that Brooke had returned, the mess had been cleared up and Susan was pulling out Brooke's make-up kit.

"What do you think?" she asked, glancing towards her best friend. Brooke grinned happily, heading towards the desk and staring at the mirror carefully as she applied her make-up. "Okay, so what are we thinking about for the hair?"

"Just curl it," Brooke said happily.

"I haven't seen you this happy since before Ryan died," Susan said dryly as she let the curler heat up. Brooke grinned. "So, are you ever going to tell me what exactly happened on your vision quest?"

Brooke stopped smiling and stared at her best friend in the mirror. Their eyes locked for a moment. Susan's bright with worry and concern. Brooke's dark with the threat of a secret meant to be kept.

"I wish I could tell you," Brooke said softly, "but I can't. There are some things you're meant to discover on your own. And all that I can really say is that what you're meant to learn, you're going to do it in your own time. No amount of researching, googling, or anything else is going to make it happen any faster."

Susan was quiet for a minute, then began to curl her hair. "You saw Ryan," she said softly. "Didn't you?"

"How did you—"

"You called his name, during the quest," she said simply. "We all heard you. I can put two and two together, Brooke."

Nodding once, Brooke sighed. "I want to tell you, but I kind of promised him that I wouldn't. He did tell me that when you're ready, you'll know," she added. "And not a moment sooner. Things always turn out right in the end, Sue, you know that."

Susan was silent for a long moment before she finally looked up at Brooke, tears glistening in her eyes. "You want to know something?" she said quietly. Brooke nodded. "I've been having these weird dreams lately. About the night that . . ." She cut off, not finishing that sentence, but Brooke understood. The night that Ryan and her mother had died. "But it's the way that I remember it. I mean, my dreams are . . . really vague, you know? It's like memories that have moth holes or have been chewed upon by mice. Not everything comes together in one nice, neat package." Leaning her head back, Susan sighed. "It's almost as if . . . something or someone is blocking my memories of that night and my subconscious is struggling to try and help me remember. How come I'm dreaming about this? It can't be real, right?"

Brooke said nothing, although her heart was racing as she heard this comment, her mind flashing back to what Ryan had showed her and the spell that Bobby had cast. Slowly, but surely, she was regaining her memories of that night. But only when she met her father would they return entirely. And who knew when that could be? Could she possibly keep a secret that long?

But she had to. She had promised Ryan that she wouldn't tell Susan the truth about that night; that she would figure it out on her own. And Brooke Murphy was a woman of her word.

Susan seemed to take Brooke silence for agreement. "So why am I dreaming about this if it's _not_ real?"

"I don't know, sweetie," Brooke lied. "But we both know that there's always a reason for everything. So there's got to be a reason for this too. Maybe if you just be patient, the truth will come to you eventually." She cleared her throat. "Don't you have a date to get ready for?"

"Chris and I are having a nice, quiet dinner here and then watching a movie," Susan replied as she finished curling Brooke's hair. "So, I am all ready and the stuff's in the kitchen." She patted Brooke's head. "You look beautiful. Go get him."

Brooke laughed as she headed out into the living room just as the doorbell rang, her heels echoing across the wood floor. As she opened the door, she smiled pleasantly at Wyatt. "Hey, you look awesome," Wyatt greeted her as Chris managed to get through the door. "You ready?"

Glancing back at the couple who were watching them near the kitchen, Brooke nodded. "Yeah, let's go," she said, grinning.

--

"Thank goodness that's over," Chris remarked as he poured the sauce into the noodles. Susan nodded in agreement. "I don't know what was worse, the fact that we had to intervene in order to get them together or that I was getting involved in my brother's love life."

"Try it from my side," Susan replied. "I was practically shoving her to forget about my brother and date yours." Chris laughed. "What do you think?" She held up a spoon and he tasted it.

"You are an awesome chef," Chris replied once he swallowed it. "Wow, you should get together with my mom sometimes. You two might conquer the world of food."

Susan laughed. "Oh, I don't know about that. Besides, I, uh, actually think that I might be going back into art," she told him. Chris blinked, a surprised smile crossing his face. "It's a part of who I am, somebody that I forgot about. And she deserves to have her chance for greatness."

Chris grinned wildly as he finished pouring the sauce. "Well, that's a good thing," he remarked, glancing towards the chair, where he had laid his coat earlier. "Because I got something for you. Go look under my coat," he instructed her.

Susan stared at him like he was crazy, then headed over to lift his coat and found the paint set that she'd passed in the bookstore yesterday. She gaped at it as she lifted it up. The tubes of paint hadn't even been used yet, the expensive brushes weren't even bent . . .

"Chris, it's beautiful," she whispered, unable to take her eyes off of it. "But it must've cost a fortune. I can't take this."

"See, you really need to get better at gift-receiving," Chris told her, amused. "I bought it for you, it doesn't matter how much it cost." She looked at him. "Susan, when you told me you were an artist, I knew it wasn't something that you were going to give up. And your brother wouldn't want you to." He walked over to her, wrapping her arms around her. "And I know I could love the girl you used to be."

Susan smiled slightly as she turned around and kissed him more passionately than they ever had before. The only time that had even come close to this perfect moment was that one night on the bridge, when they had shared their first kiss. That night . . . had been just about as perfect as this one.

"Thank you," she whispered as he held her tightly, kissing her forehead. "Thank you for saving me."

"From what?" Chris whispered as he held her.

Susan smiled slightly as she looked up at him. "Chris, if it hadn't been for you, then I might have been lost to my grief. I wouldn't have survived this long if not for you," she told him.

And as the two young witchlighters were kissing in the kitchen, no one noticed another witch standing outside of the window.

Bobby Connelly had a hard life, one in which he was forced to grow up much faster than he wanted to, but he had motherly love, the only kind of love he had ever known. And he was looking at the one from which he must protect his heart against, if he were to survive.

Both against finding love for himself and love of his sister.

--Fade to Black--

End Credits

Guest stars:

Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell

Alyssa Milano as Phoebe Halliwell

Rose McGowan as Paige Matthews

Brian Krause as Leo Wyatt

Drew Berrymore as Deidre Connelly

Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Connelly

Jack Devonport as Peter Connelly

Kathy Ireland as Celandine Dawson

and Erik von Detten as Ryan Dawson


End file.
